The similar fate of Lancia and Rover
05/08/2017
Last week, Lanciaofficially left the German market. The last new Lancia cars were imported into Switzerland in 2016, and from now on the proud brand, once founded by Vincenzo Lancia, will only appear in Italy. What a tragedy. What a sad end for a manufacturer that gave us such great cars as the Lambda, the Aurelia, the Fulvia, the Stratos and the Delta HF Integrale. A brand that ensured glorious racing victories and dominated the World Rally Championship for years.
However, Lancia's inglorious end is also reminiscent of the similar history of the Rover brand . Rover was also once regarded as one of the best car manufacturers in the world, building benchmark vehicles before and after the war.
Rover had its own identity, as did Lancia. Both brands were highly individual and full of character. Then they were taken over and their uniqueness was lost. The new owners tried to cash in on the strong brand name, but the cars, mostly built using spare parts from other Group brands, no longer had the strength of character of the original products. A Rover 75 was simply not a Rover 2000 and Honda derivatives sold with Rover emblems were not real Rovers.
The situation was similar for Lancia. Both brands are largely history today. Perhaps it had to come to this because individuality and difference can no longer be sold successfully in today's global mass automobile market. Nevertheless, it is a shame, but we will make sure that the Lancia and Rover vehicles of the past are not forgotten.
